Apparatus for automatically operating fire-doors.



APPARATUSFR AUTUMATICALLY OPERATING F'IRE'UUUBS,

(Application mea-June 13, 1902.)

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(No Model.)

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No. 712,256. Patented ont. 28,' |902.

l c. n. uMBAnaEn. 2 APPARAUS FOR AUTOMATICALLY OPERATING FIRE DOORS.

(Applicatiun led June 13, 1902.) N o M o d e 2 Smets-sheet. 2.

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E Nnnms PETERS co. PHoYo-uno wAsmucrnN UNiTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CLARENCE R. BUMBARGER, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF, GEORGE IV. JOHNSON, AND BEARDSLEY, GREGORY AND KIRSI-INER, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, A FIRM.

APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATICALLY OPERATING FIRE-DOORS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 712,256, dated October 28, 1902.

I Application filed June 13,1902. Serial No. 111,555. (No model lowing is a specification.

This invention relates to self-closing doors for elevator-hatchways, stairway, and other openings, and especially to that class of such fire-doors which are provided with means for normally holding them open and which are automatically closedby heat generated by fire occurring in the building and which acts to melt fusible connections; and it has for its object to provide improved and simple mechanism which will operate to close the doors with certainty in the event of fire taking Y place in the building.

It also has for its object to provide improved means whereby when any one of the doors is closed by the effect of the heat the entire series of doors willalso be closed.

It has for a still further object to provide an improved means whereby all the doors` may be simultaneously closed by hand.

To these ends my invention consists in the featuresandin theconstruction,combination, and arrangement of parts hereinafter described, and particularly pointed out in the claims following the description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forminga part of this specification, wherein- Figure l is a perspective view illustratingl the hatches on two different floors. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view illustrating one of the doors in its open position. Fig. 3 is adetailed perspective Viewy of the locking and release mechanism. Fig. 4 is a top plan view` of the same. Fig. 5 is a top plan View illustrating the door as it is about to drop to its closed position. Fig. 6 is a detailed perspective view of abolt.

Referring to the drawings, the numerals l indicate two elevator-hatchways arranged on two different oors; 2, thev upright elevatorguides arranged on opposite sides of the hatchways; 3, the elevator-cable, and 4 the iire 5o doors.

As shown, each of the fire-doors is its. closed position.

hinged at one edge to one edge of the hatchway and is of such size that when lowered will entirely close the hatchway. Each of the firedoors is provided with a slot 5, which extends lfrom the free edge of the door to a point slightly past the center thereof, the purpose of said slot being to permit the door to drop toits closed position without interfering'with the elevatorcable, the walls of said slot embracing the cable as the door descends. Attached to the upper side of the door is a metallic Iiap (i, which is secured to the upper side of the door adjacent to the slot by springhinges 7, which operate to hold the flap normally over the slot. The flap is of such lengt-h that it will almost entirely close the slotthat is to say, it will close every portion of said slot excepting that portion through which the elevator-cable passes when the doorI is in The opposite sides of each of the doors are also cutaway for a portion of their lengths, as at 8, to permit of said doors dropping down over the guides 2,

and are also provided with spring-flaps 9, which yield to permit the door to drop down into place and after the door has completely closed close the spaces 8.

On each loorin the vicinity of the elevatorhatchway is arranged a iexible connection 10,.

which may conveniently consistof a wire cable or a chain. One end of this connection is secured at any suitable point, preferably to the ceiling, and passes around guide-pulleys 1l` about all four sides of the hatchway and thence extends down to a point behind the lower door. Said flexible connection is preferably made in several sections, each two adjacent sections being connected together by a fusible joint or coupling which will at normal temperature hold the sections firmly together, but when exposed to abnormal temperature, such as would result from a coni'lagration in the building, will melt and permit said sections to separate, thereby breaking the cable or chain.

rI he numeral 12 indicates a latch-plate which may be secured to the wall of the building or to any suitable support, such as a stanchion or the like, and is attached at such a point that it will lie behind the fire-door IOO rset forth.

when the latter is raised to its upright position. Said latch-plate comprises a fiat metallic plate provided on one edge with two perforated lugs 13 and at one end with two perforated lugs 14E. Arranged to slide in the lugs 13 is a rod 15, one end of which is provided with an eye 16, to which the end of the ilexible connection 10 is attached. The other end has fixed thereon a nut 17, and coiled about said rod between said nut and the adjacent lug 13 is a coiled spring 18. Normally the spring 18 is under compression and operates to hold the exible connection lO taut. Fixed on the sliding rod 15 is a projection 19, which may conveniently consist of a collar. Passing through the perforated lugs 14 is a Vertical rod 20, which extends from top to bottom of the building. Journaled on the rod 2O between the lugs 14 is a hasp 21, which consists of an elongated flat metallic plate, is twisted at a suitable point, such as 22, and is forked at one end, as 23, said forked ends being perforated for the passage of rod 20. Fixed in the forked ends of the hasp is a transverse pin 24; for the purpose hereinafter The free end of the hasp is bent or curved toward the plate 12, as at 25, and said hasp is provided at a suitable point with a slot 26. Fixed to the plate 12 is a headed catch 27, which when the hasp is closed against the plate 12 projects through the slot 26. Formed on one side of the hasp is a laterally-projecting lug 28, and pivoted to said lug is one end of a latch 29, which is adapted to swing behind or under the head of the catch and lock the hasp against movement. Extending from one side of the latch 29 is a bifurcated lug 30, through which the rod 15 is arranged to freely move, and projecting in an opposite direction from said latch is a perforated ear 31. Arranged on the rod 20 is a crank 32, which is fixed on said rod by a setscrew 33. Pivoted to the crank is one end of a rod 31, the other end of which passes through the perforated ear 31 of the latch and has screwed on its end a nut 35. The crank 32 is suitably connected to the rod 20 at a point between the forked ends 23 of the hasp. Fixed to the outer side of each door is a plate 36, having its ends bent upward at right angles, as at 37, said upturned ends being perforated for the reception of a bolt 38, which is free to slide therein. Laterally projecting from said bolt is a hook-shaped arm 39 and from one end a handle or finger-piece 39. After the hasp has been locked to the catch by the means described the door is raised and the bolt 38 is permitted to drop, the hook 39 dropping down behind the hasp and between the latter and the plate 12. The door is thereby held in its raised position, so as to leave the hatchway unobstructed. In practice the parts must be so arranged that when the door is held in its raised position it will be inclined slightly toward the hatchway, so that when released it may drop down by gravity, or, if preferred, a spring may be disposed behind the door to aid in forcing it downwardly when released. It will be understood that the foregoing described parts will be duplicated on each floor, but each locking and releasing mechanism will be provided with a separate flexible connection 10. The rod 2O passes through all the hatchways and passes through the perforated lugs 14 on each of the plates 12.

The operation of my device is as follows: Let it be assumed that all the doors are raised and are held raised by the means described. Then should a fire break out on any one of the doors the heat resulting therefrom will melt one or more of the fusible couplings of the fiexible connection 10 arranged on that iioor. The moment this occurs said iiexible connection will be relaxed and will release the slide-rod 15, whereupon the spring 18 will retract said rod, causing the projection 19 to engage the free end of the latch 29 and swing it from under or out of engagement with the catch 27, and the door will then start to fall, swinging the hasp 2l from o the catch 27. In practice the hasp 21 is made of such length that before the hook 39 of the bolt 38 becomes entirely disengaged from the hasp the hasp will have swung out at an angle of approximately forty or forty-five degrees, and this resultis aided by curving the end 25 of the hasp, as above described. As the door continues to descend the hinged flaps will yield and permit the door to pass the elevator-cables and the guides 2, and said flaps will close when the door has reached its lowermost position,

thereby closing every point of the hatchway excepting those points through which the cable and guides pass. As the door descends the transverse bolt 24Ein the forked end of the hasp will engage the crank 32 and will cause the rod 20 to turn, and as said rod passes through the cranks 32 of Iall the locking mechanisms all the rods 34 will be drawn back, drawing with them all the latches 29 and releasing all the hasps, whereupon all the doors will be released and will drop down to close their respective hatchways. Formed at any suitable point on the rod 20 is a crank-arm 40, and to said arm is fastened a Wire which may be led through suitable guideways to any part of the buildingfor instance, to a point where awatchman is usually stationedso that the latter by pulling the wire causes the crank 40 to revolve the rod 20, thereby releasing all the doors and causing them to simultaneously close.

The advantages of constructing the bolt 38 in the manner shown' and described are twofold. In the first place to independently unlock any one of the doors from its hasp and permit it to be closed without releasing any of the other doors it is merely necessary to raise the bolt by its handle 39a. This disengages the bolt from the hasp and permits the door to close, and this operation is accomplished without releasing the hasp from its catch. In the second place by constructing the bolt in the manner shown the operation IOO IIO

of replacing the doors in their normal position after they have been closed is greatly facilitated. This is readily accomplished by closing all the hasps upon their catches and causing the latches to engage the catches and hold the hasps in place. The doors may then be raised one by one to their places and the bolts allowed to fall into place over orbehind the hasps. It will thus be seen that the doors are entirely independent of one another eXcept in the event of fire breaking out in the building or when the watchman pulls the wire to rotate the rod 20 to close all the doors.

Having described my invention, what I claim isl. In a device for automatically operating self-closing fire-doors, means for holding said doors open, releasing mechanism operated by heat for permitting the doors to close, a vertical rod common to all the releasing mechanisms and operating when turned to release all the doors, a crank on said rod, and a wire leading from said crank to any suitable point for turning the rod to operate all the releasing mechanisms, substantially as described.

2. In a device for automatically operating self-closing {ire-doors, the combination with bolts carried by the doors, of fastenings fixed to convenient supports alongside of the hatch- Ways with which the bolts engage to hold the doors open, flexible connections, one for each door, for independently holding the fastenings in operative position, each of said flexible connections comprising a plurality of sections secured together by fusible couplings, a rod operatively connected with all the fastenings, and means forming a part of each fastening for turning said rod when any one of the fastenin gs is released, to release all the other fastenings, substantially as described.

3. In a device for automatically operating self-closing fire-doors, the combination with bolts carried by the doors, of fastenings fixed to convenient supports alongside the hatchways with which the bolts engage to hold the doors open, a device, one for each door, for independently holding the fastenings in operative position, said device being operated by heat to disengage the fastenings from the bolts, a rod operatively connected with all the fastenings, and means forming a part of each fastening for turning said rod,'when any one of the fastenings is released, to release all the other fastenings, substantially as described.

4. In a device for automatically Operating self-closing tire-doors, the combination with bolts carried by the doors, of hasps pivoted to convenient supports alongside thev hatch- Ways and arranged to engage the bolts to hold the doors open, locking mechanisms for normally holding the hasps in engagement with the bolts, and means arranged, when acted on by heat,for throwing said lookin g mechanisms out of operation to release the hasps and permit the doors to close, substantially as described. L Y

5. In a device for automatically operating self-closing fire-doors, the combination with bolts carried by the doors, of hasps pivoted to convenient supports alongside the hatch'- ways and arranged to engage the bolts to hold the doors open, locking mechanisms for normally holding the hasps in engagement with the bolts, said hasps being arranged to be swung around the pivots when the doors close, means actuated by the swinging movement of any one of the hasps for unlocking the other hasps, and a device, one for each door, arranged when acted on by heat for throwing the corresponding locking mechanism out of operation, substantially as described. i

6. In a device for automatically operating self-closing nre-doors, the combination with bolts carried by the doors, of hasps pivoted to convenient supports alongside the hatch- Ways and arranged to engage the bolts to hold the doors open, locking mechanisms for normally holding the hasps in engagement with the bolts, said hasps being arranged to be swung upon their pivots when the doors close, means actuated bythe swinging movement of any one of the hasps for unlocking all the other hasps, and devices, one for each door, arranged when acted on by heat to throw the corresponding locking mechanisms out of operation, the said bolts being longitudinally movable in bearings whereby they may be disengaged by hand from the hasps and the doors be independently closed, substantially as described.

7. In a device for automatically operating self-closing fire-doors, the combination with bolts carried by the doors, of hasps pivoted to convenient supports alongside the hatchways, and arranged to engage the boltsand hold the doors open, catches over which said hasps fit, swinging latches carried by the haspsfor engaging the catches to hold the hasps locked in engagement with the bolts, releasing mechanisms foi` automatically disengaging the latches from the catches, and fusible means for holding the releasing mechanisms inoperative, substantially as described. Y

8. In a device for. automatically operating self-closing fire-doors, the combination with bolts carried by the doors, of hasps pivoted to convenient supports alongside the hatchways and arranged to engage the bolts and hold the doors open, catches over which said hasps fit, swinging latches carried by the hasps for engaging the catches to hold the hasps locked in engagement with the bolts, spring-actuated rods carrying projections and arranged to engage the latches and move the latter out of engagement with the catches, and liexible connections arranged to hold the said rods normally inoperative, said iiexible connections each comprising a plurality of sections united by fusible couplings` which when acted on by heat, permit said sections to separate, thereby releasing the Arods to IOO lIO

IZO

throw the latches ont of engagement with the catches, substantially as described.

9. In a device for automatically operating self-closing fire-doors, the combination with bolts carried by the doors, of hasps pivoted to convenient supports alongside the hatchways and arranged to engage the 'bolts and hold the doors open, catches over which said hasps iit, swinging latches carried by the hasps for engaging the catches to hold the hasps locked in engagement with the bolts, longitudinally movable rods arranged in proximity to the hasps, projections on the rods arranged to engage the free ends of the latches, a spring for moving said rods and causing the projections to move the latches out of engagement with the catches, and iiexible connections arranged to hold the rods normally inoperative, said flexible connections each comprising a plurality of sections united by fusible couplings which when acted on by heat permit said sections to separate and release the rods, substantially as described.

10. In a device for automatically operating self-closing fire-doors, the combination with bolts carried by the doors, of a vertical rod extending alongside of the hatchways, hasps pivoted to said rod and arranged to engage the bolts and hold the doors open, IiXed catches over which said hasps fit, swinging latches carried by the hasps for engaging the catches to hold the hasps locked, cranks fixed on the said rod, rods each connected at one end to one of the cranks and at the other end to a corresponding latch, means. operated by heat for disengaging any one of the latches from its catch, and means carried by the hasps for engaging the cranks to turn the vertical rod, substantially as described.

l1. In a device for automatically operating self-closing fire-doors, the combination with bolts carried by the doors, of a vertical rod extending alongside of the hatchways, hasps each forked at one end aud journaled on said rod, said hasps being arranged to engage the bolts and hold the doors open, fixed catches over which said hasps fit, swinging latches carried by the hasps for engaging the catches and holding the hasps locked, cranks fixed on the said rod between the forked ends of the hasps, rods each connected at one end to one of the cranks and at the other end to the correspondinglatch, means operated by heat for disengaging any one of the latches from its catch, and a transverse pin in the forked end of each hasp arranged to engage the corresponding crank to turn the vertical rod when the latch is disengaged from the catch, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

I2. In a device for automatically operating selfclosing fire-doors, the combination with bolts carried by the doors, of a vertical rod extending alongside ofl the hatchways, hasps forked at one end and journaled on said rod and curved at the other end, said hasps being arranged to engage the bolts and hold the doors open,iixed catches over which said hasps fit, swinging latches carried by the hasps for engaging the catches and holding the hasps locked, cranks fixed on the said rod between the forked ends ot the hasps, rods connected at one end to one of the cranks, and at the other end to the corresponding latch, means operated by heat for disengaging any one of the latches from its catch, and a transverse pin in the forked end of each hasp arranged to engage the corresponding crank to turn the vertical rod when the latch is disengaged from the catch, substantially as described.

13. In a device having automatically-operating selE-closing fire-doors, the combination with bolts carried by the doors aud provided with handles, of hasps pivoted to convenient supportsv alongside the hatchways and arranged to engage the bolts to hold the doors open, locking mechanisms for normally holding the hasps in engagement with the bolts, said hasps being arranged to be swung upon their pivots when the doors close, means actuated by a swinging movement of any one of the hasps for unlocking all the other hasps, a fusible device, one for each door, arranged when acted on by heat to throw the corresponding locking mechanism out of operation, the said bolts being longitudinally movable in bearings whereby they may be cngaged and disengaged by hand with and from the hasps, and the doors be thereby held open or permitted to close, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

CLARENCE R. BUMBARGER.

Vi tnesses:

ALFRED GREGORY, THEoDoRE REMLEY.

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